ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — Online petitions demanding justice are unlikely to lead to charges against people who snatched bear cubs from a tree before some took pictures with the frightened animal, a state wildlife official told 828newsNOW on Wednesday.
“We appreciate the concerns from the public and they are noted. But as far as us reopening a criminal investigation… petitions are not influencing that at all,” said Branden D. Jones, Captain of Support Services in the Law Enforcement Division of the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission.
A wildlife biologist rushed to the Berrington Village Apartments in east Asheville on April 16, after a group was videotaped attempting to pull two small black bear cubs out of tree limbs near a fence. One was pulled away and was briefly in the arms of a woman while a companion took pictures, before it fell out of her arms and escaped.
The commission’s Law Enforcement Division Investigated and opted not to pursue charges because it did not meet the legal threshhold for a conviction, Jones said on Wednesday.
“The officers have investigated that in full and there were no charges that were filed. The agency does not plan to reopen that investigation,” Jones said. “We’re trying to take this case as an educational moment…so people are able to coexist with bears.”
Jones said investigators had to look at the totality of the incident to see if it had all the required elements of a crime for a successful conviction.
He said that to capture and keep wildlife would be a violation of the law, but in this case they held the bear cub “no more than a minute” and they did not put the animal in a house, in a vehicle or transport it.
The case has created a nationwide sensation thanks to social media, as wildlife advocates express outrage about a disturbance of animals in their native habitat. Bear experts have expressed anger over the possibility that one or both of the black bear cubs could be permanently separated from their mother.
At least two online petitions have been circulating, racking up thousands of virtual signatures from people calling it a blatant case of animal cruelty and demanding legal action against the group that mishandled the bear cubs.
“A group was caught on camera pulling these innocent creatures from a tree just to take a selfie, demonstrating a complete disregard for their well-being,” reads a Change.org petition by Asheville resident Taylor Adams. “Such actions are not only unethical but also illegal under North Carolina’s animal welfare laws which prohibit the intentional harm or harassment of wildlife.”
The campaign urges people to express their outrage to Monty R. Crump, chair of the NC Wildlife Resources Commission.
Lisa Ward, a wildlife biologist who started a separate online petition, told 828newsNOW via email that the commission was “generous” in the way it handled the case.
“I believe the NWRC was very generous with these people in their interpretation of the law and the word ‘take,’ which includes pursuing wildlife or any operations related to an attempt to capture wildlife. That is their decision, and I respect that,” Ward wrote.
She said she will be continuing the petition and doing interviews. “I want people to know that despite NCWRC’s generosity in this situation, most state wildlife agencies would have absolutely prosecuted them. I also hope that NCWRC will consider our petitions the next time someone violates a wildlife law in our mountains. After all, we have entrusted them with the protection of the wildlife of North Carolina.”